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Bronhold
Overview Bronhold is the longest standing kingdom within the Icevein Bay region, and has existed since the days of the High Kingdom of Azgard. Taking its name from the hero king Bron the Truthsayer, Bronhold is widely considered the most powerful of the Azgardian Kingdoms. The petty kingdom is divided into four Jarldoms; Bronholm, Ayonder, Frostback, and Suthlys. The Kingdom is ruled by King Lodin the Young. Geography and Climate The geographic landscapes of Bronhold are greatly varied. The Frostback Mountains form a natural border to the west and its foothills and surrounding badlands extend far into the central kingdom, falling short of the Lyswald river valley. Fertile grasslands around the Lyswald River Delta provides abundant farmland while the Ayonder Wilds of sparse woods and grasslands dominate the eastern kingdom. Bronhold is temperate, though with short summers and cold, long winters. With warm water feeding the Lyswald River from the Merinteri, the trade lifeline of the kingdom usually remains open during the winter months with some freezing, however in especially harsh winters the river has been known to freeze over, paralyzing trade in the city of Bronholm. History High Kingdom of Azgard At the height of the High Kingdom of Azgard, over one thousand years ago, the heroic Bron the Truthsayer rose to power, becoming the High King of Azgard. According to Azgardian legend, Bron, a renown warrior at the time, was captured by Sidhe, the God of trickery. Sidhe put Bron through a series of trials for his own amusement, expecting the warrior to break oaths in order to obtain freedom. Despite the temptation of freedom, Bron stayed true to his oaths and endured years of torment at Sidhe's hands. The famed shieldmaiden, Greta Once-Bitten, freed Bron, whereupon the Jarls of Azgard elected him High King of Azgard. Bron the Truthsayer raised his great hall along the Lyswald River Delta, at present day Bronholm, and resided over a period of great prosperity for the High Kingdom and is widely considered the greatest of the Azgardian kings. After King Bron's death, internal reform would redraw the boundaries of the kingdom's jarldoms, officially creating Bronhold as a Jarldom of Azgard in honour of the late High King. The Ashes of Azgard In the waning years of Azgard, the High Kingdom was beset by internal strife and hordes Orcs from Merinteri and the Three Seas. Warring factions within the High Kingdom seceded from the rule of the High King. The Jarl Erik Godspeak of Bronhold was among the first to secede from the High Kingdom, viewing the High King weak and unworthy of his fealty. At the end of a long and bloody war, Erik won the independence of his jarldom, and declared himself King of Bronhold. The Kingdom was born. Rise of Xorag Amidst the vacuum of power left by the fall of the Azgardian high kings, Xorag Bonefist, a powerful pale orc warlord, was able to carve out a kingdom west of the Frostback Mountains, neighboring Bronhold. As Xorag consolidated his power, and warred with Azgardian chieftains, King Norak the Appeaser believed he could co-exist with Xorag. King Norak had raised many Orcs high into his service, and much of his household guard was orcish. Chieftain after chieftain was denied aid in arms from King Norak as Xorag formed his kingdom. Norak, however, underestimated Xorag's ambitions. With his kingdom established, Xorag began sending raiding parties to assault the border regions of Bronhold, igniting war. After a string of defeats, King Norak surrendered the Frostback Foothills to Xorag in order to end the war. The peace would not last. Bronhold and Xorag's Kingdom, later dubbed Orchold, would remain bitter rivals for centuries to follow, and locked in a state of constant war. King Aaryn Orcsbane forged an alliance of Azgardian kingdoms in order to finally drive out the Pale Orcs and extinguish Xorag's line of kings. In a conflict that engulfed the entire Icevein Bay region known as the War of Last Rites. In the early months of the war, King Xorgbal Halfhammer, descendant from Xorag Bonefist, swept the defenses of Bronhold aside, and besieged Bronhall. King Norak resisted for days, but Xorgbal's host was too strong, and they penetrated the walls and burned the ancient great hall to the ground, Norak burned alive as the Pale Orc army pillaged and razed the surrounding town. The surviving Bronhold army marshaled with the forces of Mirrorwater, and drove the Orcish horde from Azgardian lands. King Xorgbal was killed in combat and the Pale Orc forces never fully recovered from the loss of their leader. The tide would not turn in the orcs' favour again, and their hold on their kingdom would slip away against a tide of Azgardian armies. The Pale Orcs smashed at the assault of their fortress, Xor Tower, the remnants scattered. Some went south to join their brethren at Merinteri, while the rest went north to eek out a living on the northern shores of Icevein Bay, plotting their revenge. The Pale Orcs would remain a thorn in the Azgardian Kingdoms for the centuries to come. The Bronholm Era After the War of Last Rites, Bronhold enjoyed a period of peace. The war had devastated much of the kingdom and much had to be rebuilt. Queen Theda Lysbreath rose to power and set to work rebuilding Bron's Great Hall. She wasn't content to simply rebuild, however. The queen was adamant on allowing no siege in the future to succeed. Instead of a simple hall, Theda built a castle, cutting and dragging stone from the Frostback Mountains and dragging them across the foothills to her new keep. Many Azgardians flocked to her new seat, keen on making their home within the fortified walls. Before long a bustling town had propped up around the castle, destined to grow as the decades went on. Since named Bronholm, the castle stands as one of the strongest fortifications in Azgard. The bustling town soon became a city, and the center of trade for all the Azgardian Kingdoms. Bronholm owes much of its success for its strategic location. It is advantageously placed along the coast and the Lyswald River, allowing merchant vessels to travel along the coast, and south into Merinteri lands. This has allowed the city to prosper, and see a wave of diverse citizenry join the city. Bronholm is the lone city within the Azgardian Kingdoms, housing nearly 70,000 people, and with most travelers who journey into Azgard sailing up the Lyswald River, it is widely considered the gateway to Azgard. The success of Bronholm has fostered the belief that Bronhold is indeed the inheritor of Azgard, and the last bastion of the once mighty fallen empire. King Harod the Mad declared himself King of Azgard, and rose an army, mainly consisting of vagrants from the streets of Bronholm, and set out to unite the petty kingdoms of old Azgard under his banner, inciting the War of Unification. The war proved a disaster for Bronhold and Lodus' army was defeated before the walls of Reikgard Castle, while a Easthold army besieged Bronholm. Beset by enemies, King Harod signed an expensive white peace, forfeiting his claim over Azgard and surrendering his treasury to Reikhold and Easthold. King Harod spent the remainder of his reign in seclusion, brewing over his defeat. The Common Era The War of Unification had embarrassed the once proud Azgardians of Bronhold. King Harod had locked himself up in his keep while occupying armies took their pleasure from the kingdom, pillaging much of the countryside. Not even Bronholm was spared from the greedy marauders. Several warbands emerged to fight the occupiers, including the warband of Lodin Halfhelm. The various warbands proved largely ineffective against the raiders of Reikhold and Easthold. Although Lodin won several victories, his efforts were stifled by the sheer numbers of his enemies. Following a crushing defeat of which he narrowly escaped, Lodin sought refuge in Mirrorwater, gaining the protection of High Priest Slyther of Lystvithe's Temple. Slyther agreed to denounce the raiders of Bronhold, and provided Lodin with a haven to rebuild his warband. His ranks replenished, Lodin returned to Bronhold at the head of an army, and routed the raiders and marched victorious into Bronhold. Lodin wasn't satisfied to end there, however. Lodin declared himself king of Bronhold and banished Harod the Mad. The jarls of Bronhold were in no position to argue, and readily swore fealty to the warlord turned king. King Lodin Halfhelm proved an effective ruler. He reestablished Bronhold as a center of trade for the Azgardian Kingdoms, using diplomacy to settle the feuds with Easthold and Reikhold, and reopening the languished trade routes with the greater Mythlands. For all his martial cunning, and diplomatic prowess, it would be a mere storm that would be his undoing. Boarding a ship and sailing toward Basmarra to discuss trade terms, Lodin's ship was waylaid by a storm and he was lost at sea, and presumed dead. His heir, Lodin the Young, merely five years old at the time, was declared king. The rule of Bronhold was handed over to a regency council until Lodin came of age at sixteen. While the regency has largely steered Bronhold on its course of prioritizing trade, it did lead to the Bloody Night where two of the five regents were slain in their manors in Bronholm. The Regency Council stated that the slain councilors were treacherous and plotted against King Lodin the Young. After King Lodin the Young came of age, rule of the kingdom has been largely left in the hand of his council, Lodin delegating day to day rule to his trusted council. Still young, many are optimistic of Lodin's reign while some whisper he is far too trusting and arbitrary to be a good king. Government and Politics Bronhold is a feudal monarchy, a system of government carried over from the High Kingdom of Azgard. The kings of Bronhold claim ancestry from the heroic King Bron, however this is debatable as several succession wars in the kingdom's past saw kings of dubious blood lines ascend to the throne. King Lodin Halfhammer was the first in Bronhold history to ascend to the throne by force without claiming heraldry from King Bron, breaking from a long held tradition in the kingdom. The break from Bron's bloodline has resulted in traditionalist factions claiming Lodin's line to be illegitimate. During the Bloody Night many of the faction leaders were arrested or killed in the name of the King, however there is some speculation that the traditionalists were merely wounded, and plot their return to power. The king of Bronhold is largely viewed as protector of the kingdom, whose responsibility lies with leading the kingdom's armies and defending the realm. The king also manages diplomacy to other kingdoms and has direct rule over the city of Bronholm, which positions him as the most powerful lord of the realm. The Kingdom of Bronhold is divided into four jarldoms, each of which is ruled by a Jarl, and due to the minimal crown laws in the kingdom, rule over their respective fiefs almost as kings. Bronholm Bronholm is the traditional seat of the Bronhold Kings. Built upon the site of King Bron's Great Hall, Bronholm was originally a Jarldom within the High Kingdom of Azgard, but broke away to form its own kingdom in the waning years of the high kingdom. Though relatively small in size geographically, compared to the other jarldoms of the kingdom, Bronholm is easily the most populated, with most of its populace concentrated in the city of Bronholm. The jarldom also consists of the sparse woodland and farmlands that surround the city. Ayonder Ayonder is a large demesne spanning from the northern coast to the southern tributary of the Lyswald River. Ayonder is sparsely populated however, and dominated by the Ayonder Wilds, a dangerous place rife with monsters and brigands. The wilds do attract many warrior and hunting halls, however, where men of mettle go to test their prowess against the dangers of the Wilds. The populace of Ayonder is mainly concentrated along the northern coast and the fertile farmlands that border it. Ayonder is an elective monarchy, where the Jarl rules for life, and his succession is determined by a majority vote among the thanes of the jarldom. The current ruler is Jargon Deftspear, who rules from his seat at Category:Nations Category:Geography